Tennis and other forms of physical activity can help reduce stress in your life. Whether it's at home, school or work, everyone has problems staying relaxed at times. Exercise has physical, mental and emotional benefits that relieve stress by improving your sense of well-being and self-confidence as well as your overall health. Aerobic exercise is an especially effective stress buster.

Aerobic Exercise

Regular aerobic exercise has important cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. Just about any type of exercise will be of benefit in some way. Aerobic exercise works the large muscle groups in a rhythmic, repetitive fashion. This reduces levels of stress hormones while boosting your endorphins, chemicals in the brain that elevate your mood. This makes you feel more relaxed and upbeat, helping to dissipate stress, according to "Harvard Men’s Health Watch."

Tennis Practice

Tennis is a sport that can be practiced and played at different intensity levels, depending on your needs. While playing brief points in a match and stopping between them is not aerobic, you can get a good aerobic workout doing various drills in practice. You can practice alone, hitting backhands and forehands against a backboard or with one or more partners; you can hit volleys and overheads; you can practice hitting with topspin, sidespin or underspin; you can practice hitting crosscourt or down the line shots; you can stay back or come into the net. You can take as few or as many breaks as you want.

Cardio Tennis

Cardio Tennis, a special United States Tennis Association program taught nationwide as well as in other countries, features various drills in a group setting for a high-energy aerobic workout, sometimes accompanied by music. Each session includes a warmup and high-intensity exercise periods alternating with cooldowns. It doesn't matter what level of player you are, since the emphasis is on the exercise. The program was developed to provide a stimulating, tennis-oriented fitness workout in a social atmosphere, which many people find enjoyable and supportive.

Match Play

During match play, the pressure of winning points is inherently stressful, but experience will help you learn to control the tension more effectively. This can force you to increase your capacity for coping with stress. You can also learn how to recover from a stressful period by using the recovery period between points, according to sports psychologist Jack Groppel. Over time, playing tennis or any sport can give you a more realistic perspective, helping you get over losses quickly and accept outcomes you cannot control.

About the Author

Lexa W. Lee is a New Orleans-based writer with more than 20 years of experience. She has contributed to "Central Nervous System News" and the "Journal of Naturopathic Medicine," as well as several online publications. Lee holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from Reed College, a naturopathic medical degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine and served as a postdoctoral researcher in immunology.